Our New Rituals And Old Crazy Habits
by rainonmonday
Summary: During those moments, as he felt the slight fluttering under his hand against her pregnant belly, Wade remembered how hard it had been for them to get there.


**Still no date for HoD's 4th season and I'm losing my mind. Aren't you? I just need to know what will happen!**

**Here's a little (nonsensical) story, inspired by the gossip going around the 4th season and Rachel Bilson's pregnancy. Hope you enjoy it, even if I'm not completely happy with the results.**

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><p><em><strong>Our New Rituals &amp; Old Crazy Habits<strong>_

Saturday mornings had meant cartoons and a bowl of cereals for so long. He could barely count the times he didn't follow the routine. Yes, because despite his reputation as a womanizer, Wade Kinsella was a man of rituals – much like his father, some could say. Plus, he generally abandoned his conquests' beds before sunrise – unless they promised something more _flavorful_ than cereals for breakfast.

Squinting his eyes, he turned on his side to check on the time. The sun was already up and filtering through the thin curtains of the room. A warm glow filled the room, and the comfy bed seemed to keep him trapped between the sheets. Sheets that smelled like guava and something sweet and sugary. It was rather intoxicating and comforting.

He forgot to see the time and instead remembered why the fabric covering his pillow felt so soft. Moving his head to the other side, Wade caught sight of dark locks fanned over her own pillow. Between her eyebrows was a line of worry that had always been there during her fitful sleep, but this time it was probably because her back had been bothering her badly over the last week.

A smile slipped on his face as he reached to tuck a piece of hair behind her ear. Zoe barely stirred.

As her belly continued on expanding, her petite frame seemed to complain more and more. God knows he heard more and more complains from her, since she had to forgo her high heels a couple of weeks before and some of her famous short shorts hadn't seen light for a while. But she looked beautiful just the same. In his eyes, she was _his_ beautiful, smart, sassy albeit crazy and neurotic _doc_.

His hand fell softly on her round stomach, already looking huge despite she still had a bit less than two months ahead of her. If Zoe wanted to deny she was his – because it was chauvinistic and stupid of him to count her as a possession – he could tell her that she did have something of his inside her and he wasn't about to give up on that.

During those moments, as he felt the slight fluttering under his hand against her pregnant belly, Wade remembered how hard it had been for them to get there. Not only because it had been more than four years since the first time they met each other and made out, but because after she finally accepted her feelings for him, and he gave up on fighting her, the pregnancy was still very much unplanned. For weeks Zoe pulled away again, and he thought she had gone back to her old self, but then noticed the dark circles under her eyes and the saltines around the kitchen.

When she told him about the baby – _their_ baby – she had already done the crazy stuff he could have expected, like testing his abilities as father and responsibility. She looked like a mess and cried all through her rant, but he only gave her one lopsided smile and hugged her to him. That had been four months ago.

He rubbed her belly softly. Their little boy responded with an excited kick that woke Zoe up.

"Ung," she grumbled, shutting her eyes tightly. "Tell your son this is an ungodly hour to wake up her tired mother," she mumbled sleepily, making Wade chuckle.

"It's… nine and a half," Wade replied after checking his phone.

"Well, then." Zoe opened her eyes and she smiled at him. "He still should sleep. What are you doing? Are doing that creepy staring while I sleep again?"

"What? _No_!"

She snorted a laugh. "You're a weirdo." As she said this, her brow furrowed and she bit her lip. He knew that expression.

"Need to go pee?"

"_Wade_!" she whined, but then looked at him sheepishly. "Could you?"

He laughed and jumped out of the bed, rushing to her side to help her get on her feet. That belly was seriously too big for her. In fact, he had to help her with her slippers because there was no way she could see her swollen feet. Once up, she wobbled quickly into the bathroom.

Wade plopped down on the unmade bed and stared at the door. His life had seriously changed over the last couple of months. Now not only did he have the girl he had been pining for so long, but he was on his way to become a father. It was scary, sure, but it was also exciting in a way he had never known before.

"My back is killing me," Zoe told him pitifully as she returned to the room. "And my belly itches. I don't know how much my skin can stretch."

"Come here," Wade said softly, outstretching his hand for her. He guided her so she was standing between his legs. Grabbing the hem of her cotton chemise to lift her just to expose her belly.

Zoe's hands cradled his face as he did the same with her tummy.

"Don't use your whiskers to scratch me. They burn."

He laughed before reaching for the coconut oil on the night table. It had become another ritual of his to massage her skin and helped with the little things he could. He was not seen as this guy by others – he was not the one to bake cookies or cook some gumbo, but there you had it. Zoe had some sort of power over him, and it was more likely than not that their son would inherit that.

She sighed happily as his hands glided over her skin softly and with patience. He even let his hands roam over her lower back, feeling the tension of her muscles.

"Hold onto my shoulders."

She couldn't lay on her belly or sit properly for a long while, even if AB and Lemon had accompanied her to some pregnant yoga lessons. Zoe was too tired for many things.

"I think I'll spent some time outside. Do some reading and just breathing fresh air," she commented while resting her weight on him. Funnily enough, the only comfortable chair for her were the Adirondacks to which he had added some padding so she could be more comfortable.

"How about a picnic?" He offered meekly, his eyes slowly traveling up to meet hers. She lifted an eyebrow at his proposal. "What?"

"You haven't cracked a joke yet and I was wondering if that was the bait so you could tell the punch line."

"Zoe-"

"No, I mean it's okay. I do look like a beached whale." She pursed her lips. "If only I could figure out a way to make my bellybutton to spit water. "

Wade laughed. "Crazy woman."

That blinding smile on her slightly flushed face was one of the many things he loved about her. She was a mix of sexy, naïve, funny, quirky and sweet. A woman made for him.

He tickled her sides and laid her gently on the bed as she squirmed, cackling and snorting.

"Stop! Stop- I can breathe!"

"Promise me never to call yourself a whale again."

"Come on! I'm huge!" Zoe laughed, but then she noticed the way Wade was staring at her. Cocking her head to the side, she waited for him to speak.

"We'll have a baby."

She gasped. "Don't say! And here I was thinking I had eaten too many marshmallows."

"Well-"

She swatted at his arm. "The baby likes them."

"The baby has her mama's sweet tooth."

"Oh, speaking of which." Zoe urged him to help her sit up, and then made a show of standing up by herself. She was still wearing her fluffy slippers, so she slid towards the living room area. It was only then that Wade saw the small bag with tiny bears printed all over. It was no exaggeration to say that bag was as old as he was.

"Zoe?"

"Your dad dropped this off at the practice yesterday."

Wade approached her just as she pulled a knitted light blue blanket from the bag. His grandma had made that for him and he used to carry it around until he was about four – it was a miracle it had survived. That was followed by a stuffed duck, gift from his dad. A few cotton onesies and tiny socks later had Zoe cooing about what a lovely baby boy he must have been.

"How could you become _this_? Lovely babies should never grow up."

He snorted a laugh as he toyed with the beige duck in his hands. It was one of the few good memories from his childhood. Things hadn't lasted long. He had to grow up quickly. This wouldn't happen to his son.

"Yeah, well, I saw your baby pictures. Let's say babies shouldn't have squirrel teeth."

She gasped and glared at him.

"Take that back!"

"Seriously?" He arched an eyebrow.

"Fine. It was a medical condition. Completely fixable with braces."

"Well, see? This baby," he pointed at himself, "did not need braces. I'm just naturally handsome. You luck out with that bun in your oven."

"_Shuddup_," she sulked. "Plus, you know he's lucky I'm smart so he won't have to repeat kindergarten."

"He told you?"

Zoe laughed. "Yeah! Which is funny because if you think about it, you actually have an extra year of education."

"That's unfair. It was only because I didn't have many friends and they made me go to school with Jesse so I had to wait another year before first grade."

"Sure you did."

They shared a smile and he decided to ignore her little quip, since she was right. Plus, she had skipped second grade – there was no way he was going to give her more reasons to gloat.

"Wait, what were you doing at the practice? I thought Brick forbade you to set foot there after your doctor told you to rest."

"I stopped by to say hi?" She told him with a smile, trying to get away with her antics.

"Z, you're some pigheaded pregnant lady, you knew that? It makes me wonder if I ain't dating some kind of doppelganger, because there's no way a woman who graduated top of her class can be so stupid."

"Oh, please. It's nothing. You sound just like Brick."

"Yeah, because I worry about you and the baby. And believe me, if I have to make this whole town watch your every move, I'll do it."

"Right."

"I know the mayor."

"And what does that mean?"

"I'll ask him to make a city ordinance that prohibits you to do things you're not allowed to. And you know this is BlueBell, so it could happen."

"Then I'd leave town. Or maybe ask Earl to give me shelter."

"I'd follow you."

She grinned. "Anywhere? Even to Earl's or New York or-"

"The end of the world." He leaned forward and pressed his lips to her in a chaste kiss. "You're not getting rid of me."

"Why?" Zoe whispered with a soft smile on her lips.

"Because you love me, and we both love that baby." He set his big hand on her belly and she promptly covered it with her tiny one. "This is the _biggest_ commitment I have ever had, and I'm glad it's with you."

She grinned, but then a playful twinkle appeared in her eyes. "So I can forget about anything else?"

"Do you know how much diapers cost?"

"Not even a woven grass ring? You're cheap."

"I'm cheap? You never paid me for any repairs that I did around here. And even more, I offered you _excellent_ view of my body."

Zoe laughed. "We were together at the time."

"Not really, but it's good to know you were using me."

"This is stupid," she said laughingly. "I don't need a ring."

"And I don't care for money."

"Good. But if my mom asks… you tell her there's no way in hell you're marrying me."

"What?"

"And Earl. Do you think your dad is going to be happy with that? Our biggest fan in this town? It's awful of you to disappoint your dad."

"Are you trying to tell me something?"

"You should marry me. And we both know that I'm not ashamed to ask you to marry me. I won't wait for you to make up your mind and I want a ring."

"Really?"

"Yes."

"Good."

She quirked an eyebrow. "Good?" she mumbled after a pause.

He grinned before standing up and rummaging through the pockets of his denim jacket draped on the back of the sofa. A little velvet box was soon in his hands.

Zoe's eyes widened.

"Since us both agree on this." Wade got on one knee before her, as she was sat on the couch. He was opening the box and Zoe's fingers itched to reach for the contents. As she was about to touch the sparkly ring, he snapped it close.

"Ouch! Hey!" She glared at him. "Give me my ring."

"Under one condition."

"I love you?"

"Nice try. No. I want you to stop stressing and working for now."

She huffed but nodded. "Okay."

"And Earl asked me to tell you he wants more than one grandkid, but that's beside the point." He took the ring and slipped it on her finger. "There."

They stood there looking at Zoe's hand for a while, not knowing exactly what to do. It was quite different from what they always saw on movies, so when they sat there on the couch together.

"So… we're engaged."

"Yup." Zoe glanced at him. "Who are you going to tell first?"

"George." He laughed at the look she gave her. "I do want to rub it on his face. I've been wanting to do so over the last couple of years. And you?"

"Lemon. She's going to lose her mind now that we've traded places as Miss Independence and Mrs. Housewife."

"We could just keep it a secret, though."

"How long do you think it'll take them to figure it out?"

"We could always elope."

Zoe grinned but said nothing. They decided to just cuddle together and have breakfast, each with a bowl of cereal – plus, marshmallows for Zoe – and turned on the TV to watch cartoons. After all, they could always make some new rituals and change them to include the other. Now they were a family.

(But of course they weren't able to elope. Or keep a secret for too long.)

**end.**


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